Since his inauguration in January this year, President Trump and his administration have introduced a number of trade policies that can be best described as unilateral and controversial. The withdrawal
from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) demonstrates the rejection of multilateral and regional liberalisation framework, and the “Two-Eliminations” (ie, the elimination of the trade deficit and unfair trade practices) has become the center of gravity for
US trade policy. Policy U-turns in dealing with China and the future of NAFTA add more uncertainties and confusions.

Six months into his first term, with several key positions filled, especially Robert Lighthizer as the US Trade Representative (USTR), the Trump administration’s trade policy is becoming clearer. Lighthizer is a veteran trade official with extensive experience
in dealing with unfair trade practices. It is expected that, while facing many challenges ahead, the USTR under his leadership will become the spearhead to deliver President Trump’s trade agenda in a more efficient and “predictable” way.

The implications for Asia Pacific regional integration are profound. On the one hand countries in the region are trying to figure out new approaches to re-engage with the Trump administration and move regional integration forward. China has been showing its
ambition in this area, but Japan is also taking a leading role in keeping the TPP-minus-one (TPP-1) alive and has recently concluded a major FTA with EU. As for Taiwan, the window of opportunity to elevate the Taiwan-US relationship appears to be more promising
than before, yet there are also risks and costs. How to join the TPP-1 and deliver value from the government’s South Bound policy amid all these uncertainties (in addition to the Cross-Strait tensions) will be a major challenge for Taiwan. Our speaker
will address these and many other issues in depth at this event.

About the speaker

Dr Roy Lee (Chun) is currently the Deputy Executive Director of the Taiwan WTO and RTA Center, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER). He was previously Assistant Director of CIER’s Taiwan WTO Center. Dr Lee specializes
in services trade, regional integration, the WTO and cross-Strait economic issues. He is a policy advisor to the government on Taiwan’s trade negotiations with mainland China, New Zealand and Singapore, a capital-based expert for Taiwan’s delegation to WTO
services trade meetings and on general liberalization policies. Dr Lee is a frequent column writer on liberalization policy in major newspapers in Taiwan and served as the first Secretary General for the Taiwan Communications Society between 2008 and 2014.
Before joining CIER in 2006, Dr Lee worked as a regulatory expert project consultant for the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and the ASEAN–Australia Development Cooperation Program (AADCP). Dr Lee received his PhD from the Crawford School of Public
Policy at Australian National University.